Tie-over bolster dressing after skin grafting can prolong operative time, and cause hematoma and seroma formation because of uneven pressure application. To describe the possibility of discontinuing the use of tie-over dressing, we carried out a retrospective comparative study of patients who underwent skin grafting at an institution between January 2009 and December 2014. We investigated and compared the take rate, healing period, wound infection rate and hematoma formation rate for the tie-over dressing group and the non-tie-over dressing group. Among 266 patients, 148 and 118 patients were included in the tie-over dressing group and non-tie-over dressing group, respectively. There were no significant differences between the take rate, healing period, wound infection rate and hematoma formation rate for the two groups. Multivariate analysis showed that the complete graft take rate was not significantly influenced by tie-over dressing, age, sex, graft site, graft procedure and skin graft diameter. Although the use of tie-over dressing might remain necessary on sites with a free margin, including the eyelids, lips or nostrils, because of the difficulty in using tape fixation, the present study showed that alternative dressing with polyurethane foam is also useful in most cases of skin grafting.
Nivolumab is an antibody against programmed cell death 1 and functions as an immune checkpoint inhibitor for various malignancies, including unresectable melanomas. Nivolumab causes several immune-related adverse events, which typically include skin rash, pneumonitis, thyroid dysfunction, hepatitis, and colitis; in rare cases, anemia may be present. There are several reports of autoimmune hemolytic anemia that has developed in response to nivolumab; however, there are few reports of pure red cell aplasia (PRCA). We describe a patient who developed PRCA during nivolumab administration. A 70-year-old Japanese woman received nivolumab for cardiac metastasis from malignant melanoma from an unknown site. Twenty-one months after nivolumab administration (31 courses), treatment was discontinued because she developed severe anemia. Blood test results indicated normocytic, normochromic anemia, and reticulocytopenia, but all other components were normal. Bone marrow aspiration showed increased megakaryocytes and decreased erythroblasts; these findings were consistent with PRCA. Anemia improved without recurrence after treatment with corticosteroids and blood transfusions. The steroid dosage was reduced gradually, and to date, the patient has not experienced recurrence of anemia. The tumor decreased in size and the patient has shown a continued response to treatment with decrease in disease for 3 years. Although it is unclear how nivolumab causes PRCA, hematological toxicities have been reported in patients treated with immunotherapy drugs. PRCA might be an unrecognized immune-mediated adverse event that did not manifest during the clinical trial phase.
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